Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2004-08-30 07:34:54 - Graham Ellis
Ten years ago, the Sunday Trading laws in England and Wales were reformed. Up to that time, it was legal to sell perishable goods (such as fresh carrots) but not other goods (such as tinned carrots) on a Sunday. With modern times, the law had become an ass and was overdue for reform; we had the "keep Sunday Special" campaign - which as far as I could see was an alliance of religious and trade union leaders - campaigning for the law to be tightened up, and a wide church of others campaigning for it to be relaxed. What came out was something of a compromise, with shops over a certain size able to open for up to 6 hours on a Sunday, and smaller shops able to stay open as long as they wished.
When I rose this morning, I was reading elsewhere a post by a young person that accused a whole group (myself included) of ageism - of treating the author in a certain way because we know she's quite young. If I were to tell her about the old Sunday Trading laws - which I know will be outside her personal experience because of the lack of years she has under her belt, would that be ageism. If so, is it actually wrong?